Different Worlds
by Zerick The Bloody
Summary: The planet is once again peaceful after all that happen a few years ago. All the love ones that had died, losing someone was the one thing that was hard for them to take away from their memories, but they faced those dreadful memories and tried to erase them from their minds. But what if another problem comes again and bring all those memories back? AerithxZack
1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful morning at Balamb Garden. The brown haired girl left her room wearing a pink, floral sundress. Her hair was tied up in a red ribbon. She locked her dorm room and was ready to go to her best friend's room to wake him up. Last night, Balamb Garden held the SeeD inauguration party and her best friend was one of the organizers of it together with his partner. Lots of things happened at party such as watching the fireworks, congratulating the new students who passed the SeeD examination, and specially from dancing because she forced him to dance with her that night. Walking at the hallway going to the Dormitory, Aerith smiled at the beautiful atmosphere around her. Her hands were at her back, humming her favorite song. When she arrived at her best friend's dormitory, she quietly opened the door so he won't wake up. Aerith slowly walked near the sleeping prince. She leaned to look closely at his face, _'He looked really tired'_ she chuckled softly. She crouched and waited for him to wake up. Aerith stared at his sleeping form a little longer. She realizedthat her best friend will not wake up anytime soon.

She stood up and leaned her face near his ear, "Zaacckk..." she slowly said in a soft tone. Zack was laying on his bed, face first on his pillow. He was only wearing his boxers because it was the only thing that made him comfortable sleeping when he was alone and expecting no one to enter his room. His face was so calm and no one would think that he was a dangerous man when he was was planning not to wake up until noon but when he heard a creepy voice, his eyes shot wide open and woke up. When he looked beside him, expecting that it was an intruder but he calmed down when he saw that it was just Aerith.

"Don't do that! Do you want me to get a heart attack or something?" he said slightly surprised. He always get scared whenever Aerith did that to him. Aerith laughed at her best friend. It was always hilarious for her when she scares Zack like that.

She stood up, "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself from doing that... again." She said still laughing.

"Go on, keep laughing." Zack said, giving her a slight frown.

"I wanted to say some more but you're already awake." She stopped from laughing, and wiped her tears on her eyes.

"Come on. Do you really want me to die early?" Zack said as he sat down. "You need to stop doing that EVERY morning before I get a heart attack."

"I'll try." Aerith giggled.

He frowned, "Uh-huh, yeah right." then he smiled at her, "You're early. What's the catch?" he lay down again on his bed. Aerith didn't say anything. She only gave him a smile as her reply. "Why are you smiling like that?" Zack asked, raising his brow.

"Oh nothing. Its just that..." She sat beside him on the bed and looked outside his window.

Zack looked at her with a curious face, "What?" She look at him and grinned.

"I was thinking..." Aerith moved closer to him, still grinning. She knew Zack won't like what she had planned. He never liked it, but he still grants Aerith what she wanted. When he heard her sweet little voice as she moved closer to him, he started to panic.

He slowly moved backward, "W-w-what?" he stuttered, _'W-what is s-she doing?! Move, you damn body of mine. Just stand up!'_he thought but unfortunately, his body didn't respond to him. Aerith sure was enjoying this. She smirked but inside she was laughing so hard. Aerith was getting really close to her scared friend. She stopped when her face was inches away from Zack's face. She smiled at him, look down at his hand, and grabbed it.

"Let's go walk outside. Show me around again!" she said jumping out of the bed while she held Zack's hand. She pulled and dragged him out of his room.

"Hey!" he said as he had been dragged by his friend. He didn't bother that she's actually holding his hand. "You should, at least, let me change. I just woke up, you know." He added as he tried to reason out to his best friend. "And besides, you already knew this place. Why bother showing you around?" Aerith stopped running, still holding his hand. They were at the entrance of the dormitory when Aerith noticed that the students were looking at Zack who was just wearing his sleeping wear. A group of girls walked beside them, who were going to their rooms at the dormitory. The girls were whispering and looking at Zack. They giggled and their cheeks were turning red because of what they were seeing.

_'Great. This is not my day'_he thought followed by a heavy sigh. Xu was going to the Infirmary to deliver a letter to Dr. Kadowaki. When she was walking, she saw Aeris and Zack. She stopped in front of them, and raised her eyebrow to Zack.

"What are you doing here wearing your… err... underwear?" she said slowly looking up and down at him. Xu had been like a second leader to the SeeD trainees, and she's really close to Zack since they were always together in SeeD missions. She crossed her arms and still raising her eyebrow at him. Aerith already felt guilty and just didn't talk for now. Holding her laugh, she didn't look at Xu or Zack. She was planning to go back to Zack's dorm, but Xu saw them.

"Because she dragged me out of my bed." he pointed at Aerith. "And don't get the wrong idea, Xu." she looked at Aerith, who smiled sheepishly. She sighed and moved closer to her.

"You should have at least made him change his clothes you know." Xu whispered to her. Aerith nodded, laughing softly.

"I was but you suddenly approached us." she whispered back.

"Well, you two go back to his dorm and let him change his..." she glanced at Zack and back to Aerith. "His clothes..." she said quietly. They nodded both. "I have to go. I still need to delivery this letter to Dr. Kadowaki. See you later you two." Xu said, waving her hand at them while heading to the Infirmary. Aerith waved back at her. She looked back at Zack.

"Ok, let's go back to your room, you really need to change." she said as she laughed at him, which made Zack's eye twitch in annoyance.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Aerith." Zack said in annoyance. They walked back inside the Dormitory. When they reached Zack's room, he looked at her.

"Wait here. I'll try to change to my clothes real quick." He said to her as he let go of her hand and entered his room. He never wears his SeeD uniform, unless it's important. He wore his white T-shirt with a black lining at the end of the sleeve, black vest that fitted his body, black cargo shorts where he could carry more item than usual and a pair of white rubber shoes. He exited his room and looked at her

"Did you wait long?" he asked her politely. Aerith shook her head.

"Not at all." she smiled at him and looked away. "I'm sorry" she said with a chuckle. He looked at her and sighed.

"It's nothing" he said and then smiled.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, her hands behind her.

"Well, maybe. How about we go to the cafeteria?"

"Okay!" she said and grabbed his hand again. Aerith dragged him again. It had been a habit of hers to just dragged Zack along with her. They hurried to the Cafeteria. When they arrived, she saw a long line of students at the counter.

"Is the hot dogs here really that good?" she frowned. Aerith had been here lots of times, but never ate at the Cafeteria so she never tasted Balamb Garden's famous hotdog. He chuckled slightly at her question.

"Well, yeah. If you don't believe me, ask Zell. He's a hot dog lover." he chuckled. He knew how much Zell loved those hot dogs. She nodded at him.

"Ahh… I see." She chuckled. He took a glance at the entrance and saw a guy with blonde spiky hair.

"Speaking of the devil, he's here." Zack said amusingly. Zell was walking towards the cafeteria to eat hot dogs. When he arrived, he saw the long line.

"Man! This is going to take forever!" he said loudly, earning a look from everyone. Zell noticed Zack and Aerith standing near the line. He grinned and run towards them. "Yo! What's up?" Zell greeted the two casually even if Zack was a rank higher than him. Aerith smiled back at Zell.

"Good Morning Zell, looks like you got late. There's a lot of people getting their hot dogs already" she said, pointing at the long line in front of them. Zack looked at him.

"Nothing special." he said normally. He put his free hand in his pocket and he relaxed a bit. Zell looked at them and he noticed that they're holding their hands which are unusual for them

"So... You two are dating now?" Zell asked as he pointed his finger on their hands. Zack and Aerith's eyes wide open. They quickly released their hands. Aerith looked away, a shade of pink coming out of her cheeks.

She shook her head, "No, no... I dragged him here so we can eat" she said laughing nervously.

"You got it all wrong, Zell. It's not what you think." he said as he looked away, hiding his blush from them.

"Hehehe, just asking. You guys don't have to be defensive about it." Zell smirked. The two remained quiet, both of their faces turned red. Aerith rubbed her stomach and look at Zell.

"I was really hungry so we rushed here at the cafeteria" Aerith said, smiling nervously. After he regained his composure, Zack look at her.

"Well, do you want to wait here or we'll just have to go to Balamb?" he asked her. He was very impatient when it came to waiting. Even though he was just looking for an excuse to change the topic that Zell created earlier.

"Hey! How about we eat at my place? I was planning to go there anyway." Zell asked them. Aerith looked at Zack timidly.

"Oh, um… Y-yeah, sure. We can eat at Zell's house. I think her mother won't mind us eating there." she said not looking at them.

_**(At Balamb)**_

A woman wearing red glasses, a white long sleeves shirt with medium length collar. She was also wearing a short gray pencil skirt that ended to her thigh, and a black stiletto heels. She was sitting at the bench near the weapon synthesis at Balamb, holding an Atlas magazine.

"Hmmm, where should I go next..." she muttered, looking at the magazine. The male residents of the town was dumbfounded at how beautiful this mysterious woman was. This was the first time they saw someone who was this hot in their town. The men was curious what the woman was reading at the magazine that she was holding. The silver haired woman flipped the page of the magazine, "What to do..." she sighed.

_**(Back at the Garden)**_

"You guys are going to LOVE my mom's fried chicken. Its like the BEST! in Balamb." Zell said happily at Zack but he's been bothered by something. He's getting a bad feeling that something bad might happen but he erased those thoughts and tried to hide his serious face but failed.  
"What's the matter, man? Is there something wrong?" Zell asked his friend. He never saw Zack being serious like this. Zack shook his head.

"Its nothing. Just thinking about some SeeD stuff" he replied.

"Oh okay, whatever you say man. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Zell practically shouted, that earned him another glare from everyone in the cafeteria. They started to walk towards Balamb. Aerith followed them. They chose to walk rather than using a car since Balamb isn't that far from the Garden. They followed the path that lead to Balamb. Aerith got quiet, even when they arrived at Balamb she didn't talk. She was just looking down and following them. They arrived inside Balamb. The town was still peaceful as ever. Aerith could smell the fresh breeze coming straight from the sea near the town. Balamb always made Aerith happy because the town is rich from fresh flowers in different variety and colors. Some students loved to hang out here after a stressing day of school and just relax their minds. The two men walked straight to Zell's house. Before Aerith can go down the stairs, her eyes caught the beautiful woman reading a magazine, sitting near the weapon synthesis.

_'Wow, she looks beautiful'_she thought to herself but there was something more about this woman. Aerith felt a weird aura coming from the woman, something dark... She shook her head, "Maybe I'm just hungry." she muttered and continued inside Zell's home. The said lady was still looking at the Atlas magazine, adjusting her glasses so she can see the letters well, she saw an interesting place on the magazine.

"Hmm, should I go back to Esthar? Or go to Midgar?" she said slowly. She scratched her head and looked at the next page. Suddenly, she noticed that someone was coming on her left side. She glanced to the three people going inside a small house to her left side. She looked at the guy who had black hair next to the brunette girl wearing a red ribbon on her hair. She just looked at them covering half of her face with the magazine that she was holding which only her eyes was showing. Her eyes followed the black haired guy, "He's cute.." she whispered, then she went back to what she was doing. Another last quick glance to the black haired guy again, then back to her magazine.

"Yo ma! I'm back. I've brought some friends. They're going to eat here." Zell yell at his mom.

"It's good for you to visit, Zell. Don't worry, I'll make something for you guys." His mom said.

Inside Zell's house, Zack was really getting strange feelings. He just sat on the floor and began to think about something.

_'This feeling! It's like I've felt it before but where?' _Zack turned to Zell, "Hey, I'll just visit the item store real quick. I'll be back." he walked outside Zell's house and saw a beautiful woman but he felt something's not right. Zell saw Zack walk outside his house.

"Sure. Make it fast or we'll eat all the food." Zell replied back to him. "He looks troubled." he turned to Aerith. "Do you know what happen?" Aerith just looked at Zack when he left the room. She shook her head when Zell asked her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. Maybe he's just thinking about something." she answered. "Don't worry, he'll be fine" she added and smiled at Zell. She just sat there quietly waiting for the food to be served. Aerith didn't know where and why she was also getting this weird feeling, she felt it since they arrived the town.

The mysterious woman continued to look for a good place in the map. She was thinking to go back to Esthar but planning to go to this new place that she saw in the magazine. She sighed softly and turned the next page. She crossed her legs and adjusted her glasses again. She saw that the guy that she was staring at earlier came out of the house. She glanced at him.

"Why hello cutie." she made a sly grin. She just watched him for a second then back to her magazine, "Maybe he also wants to check me out." she smirked.

"I should restock." Zack muttered as he left the house. Zack passed by the beautiful woman. While he ran in front of her, he felt his time stop, _'Why do I feel this feeling. It's... It's getting strong whenever I'm go near her.'_ he thought as he quickly glanced at her. _'W-why do I felt scared?'_ he arrived at the item shop. Zack stopped and held his chest. _'Who the hell is she?'_He bought his things and went back to Zell's house. Zell noticed Aerith and Zack looking troubled, as if something suddenly bothered their minds. He was getting worried. Zell sat beside Aerith.

"Not you too. What's the problem?" he asked his friend. She's been quiet since they arrived. "Look, I'm concerned about you two. Please tell me what's wrong." Aerith looked quickly at Zell and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just hungry." She said smiling wearily. Zack arrived as Zell's mom served their food.

"Just in time, Zack." Zell said to his friend. Aerith grabbed a bread and took a little bite on it.

"Let's eat." she said smiling at them, she ignored the weird atmosphere that she was feeling. _'Maybe it's just me...'_she thought to herself as she ate her bread.

"Hhmm… This is troublesome." the mysterious woman whispered and sighed heavily. She put down the magazine and looked inside her bag. "Where's my mirror.." she muttered, looking for her mirror inside her small black bag. She felt a square shaped object under her bag, "Here it is" she grabbed the mirror and checked her face. "Good. Still working." she said to herself. The silver haired woman fixed her hair and her glasses. After that she put back her mirror inside her small bag. She leaned back on the bench and sighed, "I'm getting bored" she crossed her legs and just stared at the view in front of her. "I'll just stay here a little bit" she yawned and sighed heavily.

"You ok?" Zack asked his best friend. When she was going to take another bite, she looked at Zack.

"Yes, I'm fine." she said normally with a calm expression He sat across her and he began to eat.

"Hey. Did you hear about Geostigma?" he asked them. He knew about it because his brother still had it on his left arm. He's just curious if they knew about the new illness that was spreading across Midgar. Aerith didn't say anything. She only read it somewhere in one of Balamb Garden's newspaper.

"Yeah. It's been on the news, you know. People didn't want to come near to those who had it." Zell said. He looked at Zack before he started to eat. Aerith took a sip from the water that Zell's mother put on the table.

"It's sad because they just come out of your body. Not knowing the reason how you get it and where you get the disease." Aerith said after she drank her water.

"It's kind of unfair for those who have it." Zack muttered, "Being isolated by others because of a disease. They can't enjoy life because others despite their existence." Zack stopped eating and looked at the window.

"Maybe there's a cure for it. Maybe they're still looking for a cure." she added in a curious tone. Zack didn't look at her.

"There's no cure." he muttered silently. He knew everything about the disease. He finished eating his food and he waited for them to finish.

"After this, we should head back. I left my phone at the dormitory." he said to them. He's still haven't overcome the strange feeling that he felt earlier.

"Sure." Zell nodded.

"How did you know about the Geostigma? You didn't happen to have one." Zell suddenly asked Zack. He narrowed his eyes.

"Why would I have one, idiot?" he said to him, "If I had one, everyone in Balamb already got the disease. Will you use your brain instead of always using your mouth?" Zack said in an annoyed voice.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Zell shouted at Zack.

"Calm down guys!" Aerith stopped the two men, "Will you stop it Zack?" she reprimanded him. Zack didn't say anything anymore.

"I'm done eating." She stood up, she took her plate and put it in the sink. Zell's mom came out of the room on their left side. Aerith look at her and bowed.

"Thank you for the meal." she said, smiling at her. She look back at her two friends, "Please don't fight." she said in a serious voice. She opened Zell's entrance door and went outside.

The silver haired woman heavily sighed as she sat properly on the bench. "I'll just go to Deling City to hang out for now." she said boredly, "At least I can eat and drink good stuff there." she added together with a yawn, "Man, this is boring, I need excitement.." she said with an annoyed voice, she stood up and walk to her left side where the Train Station was.

Zack and Zell almost fought if Aerith didn't stop them. They followed her outside the house.

"I'm going back now!" Zell shouted back at her mom.

"Okay, Take care honey!" his mom replied back.

When he look at the synthesis shop, Zell saw a beautiful woman walking towards the train station. "Dang, she's hot. I rarely see those kinds of chicks here in Balamb."

"Really? But you just told me last night that Quistis was hot." Zack countered him. Zell quickly looked at him.

"What? I did?" Zell asked. He nodded as a reply to his blonde friend, "I don't remember saying that last night! Why would I say that about Quistis?!" Zack wanted to smirk. He liked teasing his friend. Zack knew that Zell wouldn't remember anything that he said last night to him because of the all the alcohol he consumed during the party.

Aerith sighed, _'Boys...'_she thought. She did a one last look at the mysterious woman that was heading to the Train Station. The woman was not that mysterious to other people but for Aerith she was.

"She's really hot. Don't ya think Zack?" Zell smirked.

"Shut up, chicken wuss." Zack said to him as his right hand shook in fear, _'She's not ordinary. I better ask Cloud or Vincent about this when we get back'_he thought as the woman was out of their sight. He started to walk away, heading to Balamb Garden. "Let's go Aerith." Zack said to her. Aerith nodded and walked next to him, "Hurry up Zell or we'll leave you behind." he said to his dumbfounded friend.

"H-hey! Wait up guys!" Zell shouted at Zack as he catched up with him.


	2. Chapter 2

The group walked back to Balamb Garden. It was a quiet walk back to the school, even Zell didn't want to open his mouth because of the silence that the two were making. Zack walked beside Aerith, who also had a serious face,

"The woman at Balamb... She's not normal. Something is not right about that woman." he whispered. Aerith didn't answer, she just looked at him with a blank face. As they walked farther away from the town, the aura that they felt was slowly disappearing. When they arrive at the Garden, Aerith and Zack went back to his dormitory while Zell went to the other direction where his room was located.

"I'll see you guys later!" Zell waved at them. Zack and Aerith waved back at him, as he disappeared in their sight.

They walked to the dormitory. Aerith chose to sit at the bench in front of the entrance. Zack took out his phone so he can contact Cloud about what they just experienced. Before he can dial up, his phone rang. He push the call button.

"Hi. This is Zack. Who is this?"

"Zack, it's Laguna..." the voice on the phone said. Zack was surprised because his dad rarely calls him on his phone and when he does, its usually an emergency.

"What's up, dad? It's very unusual for you to call me." he asked.

"Well, come here at Esthar. I've got something to tell you. I already called your brother and he'll come here as well." Now that bothered him. First, his dad called to tell him that there's something important that he wanted to say. Something tells him that the call was really important if he made the effort to call him and Cloud.

"Why can't you just tell me through the phone?"

"Because, what if someone is listening into our conversation?" Laguna reasoned.

"Fine." Zack rolled his eyes, "Just tell Kiros to meet me up at the Fisherman's Horizon."

"I already told Kiros and he said that he'll be waiting for you at the inn."

'That was fast...' he thought, "I'll be there."

"Thanks. Bye, Son!" Laguna frantically said, then hanged up the phone. He sighed. He sometimes wished that his dad would stop acting crude. It embarrassed Zack. He put his phone back in his pocket then looked at Aerith.

"Hey, umm... I'll be back. I'll just have to get some stuff in my room. Will it be okay if you wait here for me?" Zack asked Aerith politely.

"Sure. I'll wait for you." she replied.

"I'll be quick." he said. Aerith nodded as she watched Zack ran inside the dormitory hall.

Zack arrived in front of his dorm room. He unlocked it using his keycard. The door's light turned green and it opened automatically. He went to his cabinet, grabbed his sword holder strap. Zack put it on his back. He also grabbed his sword. His sword was a long, medium-sized black sword with white blade. He packed some of his things because he knew that he'll be staying there for quite a while.

Aerith sighed, and looked down at her dangling feet, "I'm bored." she whispered, "Why is he taking so long?" she added. Suddenly, something vibrated inside her pocket. She heard her cellphone rang. She took it out and pressed the call button, "Hello?" she said.

"Aerith!" the girl from the other line shouted. The voice was familiar to her. The phone number of the caller was not saved in her phone so she was not sure who it was.

"Uuumm.. Who is this?" she asked slowly.

"Oh, sorry." the perky girl apologized and laughed, "It's Yuffie" she said. Aerith smiled,

"Yuffie! how are you?" she said in a cheerful tone.

"I'm good, I'm good!" she replied. Aerith heard a sound of engine roaring in the background, and sound of cars.

"Where are you right now?"

"I'm at Esthar right now. I'm waiting for Rikku to pick me up with her brother's airship. We're going to Deling City. I heard that they're celebrating the anniversary of the City, they'll be doing parades and stuff so we wanted to see them." she said to Aerith loudly, because it was very loud where she was right now.

"Oh I see." she simply said, _'At least you're having fun'_ she thought to herself, "I wish I can go there too" she said to Yuffie.

"Why don't you? Is Zack there?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"Yes, but I don't know if he wants too. I hope he's not busy"

"He'll take you there, he knows you like those stuff, and he lov-" Yuffie quickly stopped her mouth from completing her sentence.

"He.. what?" Aerith asked. Yuffie didn't continue because if she did, Zack will kill her for sure.

"Uhh.. Nothing! Nothing!" she said laughing nervously, "I uuhh.. said He LOVES those things too!" she said, trying to cover up what she messed up.

"Oh ok.." Aerith said. Yuffie silently sighed in relief. She can't tell Aerith what Zack told her. Zack said it was a secret, if she tells Aerith she'll be dead.

_'I need to shut my big mouth.'_ Yuffie thought, "Well Aerith, I hope you and Zack can go to Deling City!." she said to her, "Kay, I gotta go. See you! Say hi to Zack for me." she added.

"Ok, take care Yuffie. I will tell him, Bye" she replied and pressed the end call button. She put away her phone, and sighed, _'Why is he taking so long in there.'_ she thought as she waited Zack to come out of his dorm.

Before Zack can leave his room, his phone rang again. He pushed the call button and said, "Hello?"

"Hey." A guy with a low voice said in the other line.

"Who's this?" Zack replied.

"Its Cloud. Listen, meet me up at Deling City. We'll be going to Esthar after the celebration there."

"Let me guess. Tifa force you to go there, right." he heard a grunt as a reply, "What about Kiros?"

"I've already called them and they're ok with it." Zack sighed at this. This is going to be a long day. "Ok. I'll head there. Tell Tifa that I'll bring Aerith with me." he hang up. Zack put back his phone inside his pocket and left his room. When he exited the dormitory, he saw Aerith and noticed that she looked bored.

"Hey." he greeted her, "My dad just called and he said that I should come to Esthar." he looked away. Zack wanted to ask her if she wants to come with him but he's kind of nervous. Aerith noticed this. She looked at him with a curious face, "Zack? You okay?" she asked. Zack looked at her, his face blushing.

"Um... Do you want to come with me to Esthar? I have to stop at Deling City because Cloud said that we'll meet up there. Tifa forced him to go there." Aerith giggled. She thought that Zack looked cute whenever he looked shy and nervous in front of her. She nodded and gave him a smile.

"I would love to go with you Zack!" she happily said then she stood up, "Wait here. I'll go get my stuff." she added. Aerith moved closer in front of Zack and unexpectedly gave him a quick hug, "Thank you." she smiled at him, "I'll be right back!" she ran and left Zack to get her things that she needed.

"Don't leave your weapon." he said to her, hoping that she heard him. He leaned on the wall as he wait for her. He's still thinking about the woman earlier when they were at Balamb, _'Judging by her appearance, she seems normal but if you come closer. She's somewhat releasing a strong aura. I can't tell if she's an enemy or not. I need to observe that woman more if I see her again'_ he thought.

Aerith heard what Zack said when she left to get her stuff. She packed the materias that she had, her weapon if something might happen when they get to their destination, clothes because they might stay there for a long time and other necessary things. She put her stuff inside a travelling bag. After that she locked her room, and rushed to where Zack was.

When she arrived, she approached Zack. Aerith looked excited. She was happy that Zack invited her to come with him to Deling City and Esthar. She will get to see Yuffie again, watch the parades and fireworks. She will also get to meet Zack's father for the first time. Aerith looked at him, "I'm ready!" she said happily, "So when are we leaving?" she asked in a cheerful voice.

"Immediately." he said to her. "I just want to see my brother within your cousin's clutches." he chuckled at that thought.

"You're so mean." she laughed at what he said.

Zack smiled, "Let's go." He took her stuff and left the main hall.

They went to the parking. Zack went to his car, followed by Aerith behind him. He put their stuff at the back. He opened the door for Aerith. She said thank you to him and went inside the car. He closed her door and went to the other side of the car. He opened his door and went inside. They left the parking area of Balamb Garden. Zack drove faster because he knew his brother would drive faster too.

They arrived at Deling City, A long haired woman stretched her body and ready to have some fun, she looked back to see her friend who was carrying all their stuff, "Faster Cloud! So we can reserve a room for us. Many people will be here later" she said to her spiky, blonde haired friend.

Cloud looked at Tifa, he muttered something under his breath. "Whatever." he hate her when she's bossing him around. Tifa gave him a big smile, turned around, and walked straight, leaving Cloud with all their things.

While they were inside the car, going to the train station, Aerith looked at Zack, "Hey Zack. Why didn't you invite Zell?" she asked, "He was on vacation. Rikku and Yuffie will be there too. You should've invited him. It'll be fun." she added.

"Oh boy." Zack sighed. It'll be chaos if he invited Zell, now that he knew the two girls would be there also, "If Cloud didn't tell me to go to Deling City, I'm going straight to Fisherman's Horizon to meet up with Kiros. Dad told me that he's going to tell me something really important." he said. "Its the first time that he called me after a long time so I suspect that it was really important, that's why I didn't invite Zell. I'm going to ask Dad something about that woman that we saw earlier." he told her every detail that she needed to know. "Something tells me that woman is not what we see." he said in a serious tone.

"What do you mean, 'she's not what we see'?" she asked.

He sighed at her. "I already saw her face to face but only a few second. Remember when I told Zell that I'm going to re-stock some potion. I ran towards the direction of the item store and saw her. I, somehow, felt scared when I got close to her. She's not an ordinary woman Aerith." He said seriously to her "She's something else but I can't be sure if she's an enemy or not. I got the feeling that she's up to something not good in the future. Its just a feeling though." Zack explained to her. He stopped the car but didn't move. He wanted to add something to what he said about the woman, just to make things clear to Aerith, "And also she's not my type... Just want to make it clear to you." he slightly blushed. They arrive at Balamb. He parked at the pier. "We're here."

She just looked at him. So it was not only her who had those feelings when she encountered the mysterious woman. They just had to be careful next time they see the woman again. Before she leaves the car, she looked at Zack.

"And what type of girl do you like?" she asked.

He smirk at her as he grab his bag. "Its a S-E-C-R-E-T." he said to her before he dash away from her, escaping her clutches and pain from hell. He just laugh as he ran. _'My type is... you.'_ he thought.

She frowned and look at him, "Not fair!." then when Zack ran away from her, she grab her bag, "Hey! wait for me!" she shouted, running to catch to him.

They were at the station now, Aerith saw the small shop on her right side. She approached the store and bought the items that they needed for their trip. After she purchasing the items, She suddenly heard the conductor, "TIMBER! DEPARTING!, PLEASE GO INSIDE NOW!" the conductor shouted. Aerith put the items inside her bag and quickly went next to Zack.

"Ready?" he asked. Aerith nodded as her reply to him. They went inside the train. Zack activated something in the passenger's control panel. The door opened and they enter the cabin. Zack went and sat on the sofa. "By the way, did you hear the rumor that just came out in the news this morning? I'm planning to ask Cloud about it." he asked her. If Jenova was really alive, then this is one hell of an adventure again. Cloud is the only person that he knew who can know if Jenova's alive or not.

"Yeah, Xu told me about it." she replied while she closed the door of their cabin. Aerith put down her stuff beside the other big sofa on the right side of the room. She sat there, and looked down, "There's a lot of rumors going on right now, what if those rumors are true? Do we need to stop them again from destroying the Planet?"

"If the rumors are true, then I'll do everything I can to stop them. Humans maybe selfish and arrogant but they still have a reason to live." he said with a slight sadness in his voice. "I envy those people who knew their reason to live." Aerith didn't say anything. She also didn't know the reason of her existence, maybe she still yet to find out what it is. She sighed and looked at Zack.

"And this sickness that spreads all over the Planet, I feel sad for the people that has it. I would want to find the cure for that sickness if ever there is one." her face looked sad.

He looked at her, "Geostigma is an incurable disease. There's no cure to it even you tried to find it." he sighed heavily.

"What if there is?" she replied back. She laid down on the sofa that she was sitting on.

He looked away. "If there is, I'll find it so I can cure Cloud. He has that disease" he said to her.

Aerith was surprised. She didn't know his brother had that disease. Zack never mentioned it to her, it was her first time hearing this from him, "I'm sorry.." she said to him. Zack shook his head and gave her a slight smile.

"Its okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it. I didn't want the whole school to know about my brother's condition..." he quietly said.

"I see..." Aerith simply said, looking at Zack with a sad expression on her face. She looked up at the ceiling, "Why are you so nice to people Zack.." she said in a soft tone. She moved to her right side so she won't see Zack. He heard what she said.

"Because I want to. I fail to save other people many times before but I still try my hardest to save everyone because I want to save them. Their lives is as important as mine." he smiled as he look at the ceiling.

She chuckled softly, _'He's still the same.'_ she thought. Whenever Aerith asked Zack a serious question, he gets serious too. There was a long silence after he replied to her question. Zack noticed that Aerith got too silent all of the sudden. When he looked at her, he saw that she was sleeping. He smiled at her before he lie on the sofa.

"I know you're sleeping and can't hear me." he said softly, "I don't have the courage to tell you how I feel but I promise that I'll protect you as long as I'm alive." he smiled as he stood and walked towards outside the cabin. He looked at the scenery as the train went by. He watched the scenery as he waited for the train to arrive at Timber.


End file.
